As a puppy owner, you may worry about your pooch using the stairs and getting injured. We’ve created this research-driven guide to ensure your golden retriever puppy can go up and down stairs at the right age without any issues.
Golden retriever puppies under the age of 12 weeks shouldn’t be allowed to climb stairs at any cost. The right time for them to use stairs is when they turn into an adult dog, which is approximately 18 months.
There are other crucial things that you must know about your puppy using stairs to ensure its healthy and happy life, which we will discuss in this article.
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At What Age Can Golden Retriever Puppies Climb Stairs?
It’s essential to know that medium to large class of dogs, such as golden retrievers, are more prone to hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. In this condition, their hip and elbow joints are not properly developed, which can be quite debilitating.
These conditions are hereditary and can be aggravated by other factors like excessive growth rate, types of exercise, and unbalanced nutrition.
To help prevent this issue or minimize its effects, you should allow time for your golden retriever puppy to properly develop their joints.
In a research conducted by the American Journal of Veterinary Research, it was concluded that puppies aged 3 months or below shouldn’t be allowed to walk up or down stairs as this increased the risk of developing hip dysplasia.
Even if your golden retriever puppy is over 3 months (12 weeks), you shouldn’t put undue stress on their joints and body as this can restrict their healthy growth and development. It’s better to wait until a puppy has turned into an adult.
A golden retriever puppy generally turns into an adult when they are 18 months old. Therefore, you shouldn’t freely allow your puppy access to stairs until they are 18 months old. This will give them time to properly grow their joints while staying healthy.
Now there’s no such thing as golden retrievers must not climb stairs at all. A healthy adult golden retriever can use stairs without any issues.
However, if your dog is quite old or suffering from a medical condition that affects their mobility, you should also keep them away from stairs as you don’t want to worsen their condition.
Key Takeaway: Restrict stair usage for puppies under 3 months and exercise caution until they reach 18 months, allowing proper joint development.
Is Climbing Stairs Bad for Golden Retrievers?
Climbing stairs isn’t a problem for healthy adult golden retrievers. Instead, it can even benefit them (which we will discuss in a while). However, you shouldn’t let a golden retriever puppy use stairs until they become an adult dog.
Otherwise, this may lead to improper hip development and other complications like arthritis, which can significantly restrict their mobility.
In addition to this, puppies are clumsy and hyper anyway. You never know when they will injure themselves when using stairs, and this can lead to other health problems.
Moreover, if your adult golden retriever has severe mobility issues or is quite senior, you shouldn’t put additional stress on their joints.
Key Takeaway: Climbing stairs benefits healthy adult golden retrievers, but it’s crucial to avoid stairs for puppies to prevent joint issues. Senior or mobility-affected dogs should also steer clear to minimize joint stress.
Benefits of Climbing Stairs
Once you have taken proper caution and introduced your golden retriever to stairs at an appropriate age, climbing stairs can actually be beneficial for them.
According to American Kennel Club, letting your dog go up and down stairs can facilitate them in building muscles.
Incorporating muscle-building activities prevents your pooch from getting injured since it boosts bone density and supports and stabilizes tendons and joints. All this is essential to keep them fit and healthy.
Of course, you must keep it low to moderate and not push your golden retriever to climb stairs all the time. You want them to gain more benefit than harm.
For muscle building, you can always take your dog for a walk on hills with gentle inclines and declines without having to worry about over-exhausting them, as hills are less stress-inducing as compared to stairs.
Key Takeaway: Introducing golden retrievers to stairs at the right age aids muscle-building, boosts bone density, and stabilizes joints. To optimize benefits, maintain a moderate approach and consider hill walks as a less-stress alternative to stairs.
When Should Golden Retrievers Avoid the Stairs?
In addition to the age your golden retriever should avoid stairs, you should also watch out for other things.
Some dogs may be internally injured or experiencing joint issues, but they may be quite subtle about it. You should look out for these symptoms:
- Limping
- Feeling lethargic
- Difficulty walking
- Difficulty standing for a long time
- Decreased activity or range of motion
- Difficulty rising or jumping
If you notice these symptoms in your golden retriever, you should immediately take them to a vet and get them checked.
Don’t forget to bring the attention of the vet to any events that have happened recently, which will help in diagnosis.
In the meanwhile, make sure they don’t use stairs as it can put extra stress on their body and exacerbate the underlying condition.
Another important thing to note is that some breeders from whom you adopted/bought the puppy offer certificates for their parent’s joint health.
This can be an ideal indicator of how much you should give access to stairs to your canine and take precautions accordingly, as they may have inherited hip or elbow dysplasia from their parents.
When and How Do You Train a Golden Retriever Puppy to Use Stairs?
You may still want to train your puppy when they are older (at least 8 months) to make sure they don’t develop anxiety using stairs when they actually become an adult dog.
RECOMMENDED READING: Anxiety in Golden Retrievers: Symptoms, Causes, & Solutions
Of course, you will have to start off with baby steps and must supervise them at all times when doing so.
Rather than introducing your golden retriever puppy to a large flight of stairs (which can be pretty intimidating for them), you should start them off on smaller staircases (2-3 steps).
Don’t overburden your puppy when teaching them how to walk up (or down) stairs.
Be extremely patient with them since you don’t want to panic them and make them feel anxious, which could lead them to stumble and have a joint injury.
Use words of encouragement and happy voice tones to motivate them to do their best. You can follow these steps to train your golden retriever puppy to safely use the stairs:
1. Take them to the bottom of the stairs and place their favorite treat on step 1. Point to the treat and encourage them to climb on the 1st step.
2. Once your puppy is on the 1st step, repeat the same process for the 2nd step. Again, make sure you move at your pooch’s pace.
3. Once on the 2nd step, you can help them learn how to walk down the stairs. Placing treat on the 1st step with positive affirmations will help them descend.
Note: It’s easier for puppies to walk up stairs as compared to walking down, and the risk of tripping and falling is also lower this way. You can also try only training them to climb up the stairs for a few days or weeks, and once they are confident, you can train them to walk down the stairs.
You can also put them on a leash and repeat the same steps listed above to make them feel safe, as they will feel you closer to them.
In addition to treats, you can also use their favorite toy to attract their attention! Again, at all times, you must supervise them.
Key Takeaway: Introduce stair training for your golden retriever puppy around 8 months to ensure a stress-free experience. Start with small steps, use treats or toys, and supervise closely, focusing on climbing up first before introducing descending for their ease.
Safety Tips for Stairs
Even if your adult golden retriever is all healthy, there’s always a risk of tripping and falling from the stairs, which can lead to serious injuries and complications. Therefore, you should follow these safety tips when your pooch is using stairs:
1. Look Out for Spills and Wet Paws
You must ensure that there’s no slipping hazard for your golden retriever when using stairs.
After you get home from a lovely walk with your canine companion, immediately dry off their paws before entering the house. Your stairs should also be completely dry to prevent accidents.
2. Improve Visibility
Poorly-lit stairways are another factor that can lead to your dog stumbling from stairs.
Hence, you must ensure that the stairs are well-lit. This can even be a bigger problem for dogs with poor eyesight, poor balance, and weakness.
You can easily invest in affordable battery-operated lights and have them installed without any major plumbing work.
3. Add Traction
To minimize the risk of slipping, adding traction to your stairs will be your best bet. Since most homes have wooden flooring, undoubtedly, they can be slippery and dangerous for dogs.
You can get your hands on non-slip stair treads that are not only affordable and easy to install but also greatly absorb water, like the MBIGM Carpet Stair Treads.
Additionally, you can also purchase grips for your golden retriever that go over their toenails and look like rubber bands while providing excellent traction.
Toe grips can be a great alternative to boots or shoes, as some dogs dislike wearing them.
4. Beware of Stair Railings
Although many pet owners ignore this, it’s imperative that you take care of the stair railings too.
You never know if your golden retriever puppy tries to put their head in it and this turns into a choking hazard. They may also slip through the railings and fall on the floor.
You can simply use any cardboard boxes, like shipping boxes or cereal boxes, to cover the railings until your pooch is big enough not to pass through the railings.
This may not be too aesthetically pleasing, but it will prevent your puppy from getting injured.
5. Install Dog Ramps (for smaller stairs)
For a puppy, senior golden retriever, or even a dog with mobility issues, you should consider installing dog ramps. Of course, you will have to introduce the ramp to your pooch and train them to use it safely.
Ramps only work great if you have small flights of stairs (say 2-3 steps), which can be the stairs to your porch or between rooms.
The PetSafe Folding Dog Ramp provides great traction and is stable, foldable, and secure.
6. Block Stairs
Young puppies or even unhealthy adult dogs shouldn’t be allowed to walk the stairs. You can completely block their access to stairs by installing baby gates at the foot or head of stairs.
The sturdy Cumbor Baby Gate for Stairs automatically closes to ensure your pooch’s safety no matter what and is tall enough to restrict their access to stairs.
In addition to this, you shouldn’t give any reason for your golden retriever to climb stairs by keeping all their food, toys, and bed on your home’s main floor.
Conclusion
Golden retriever puppies must not go and up down stairs before they are 12 weeks old. Since this breed is more prone to joint problems (hip and elbow dysplasia), you should allow time for proper joint development and let them use stairs when they are adults, which is around 18 months.
For senior golden retrievers or the ones with mobility issues, you shouldn’t let them use stairs at all. If you’re training your golden retriever puppy for stairs when they’re around 8 months old, supervise them at all times.
In case you’re worried about your pup sleeping a lot, we recommend reading this article next – Do Golden Retriever Puppies Sleep a Lot?